


A Caged Bird

by orphan_account



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Depression, M/M, Regret, Self-Harm, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 09:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2186658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Grelle is hurt, where does she go?  Who does she turn to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Caged Bird

   It was all just too much. Grelle threw herself down on her bed, sobbing. Everyone hated her. William was as cold as ever, and Sebas-chan had been so cruel. He had told her that she was a monstrosity, that the world would be better off without her. Grelle grabbed her razor, and dragged it along the pale skin on her inner arm. Her arms were quickly painted in red, lovely red, everywhere. The Shinigami's vision blurred, her head spinning. _Oh no, not again._ Grelle didn't want to go out like this, never again, she had promised herself she wouldn't let anyone drive her to this again. She knew she would bleed out in minutes, but nothing came to mind.

   Part of her continued to whisper that maybe this was better, maybe she should just let herself died again. But a slightly larger part refused. Desperate, Grelle opened a portal from her room to London. The last thing she saw before loosing conciseness was a large, battered gray sign reading _Under Taker_.

**********

   Grelle woke to the bitter scent of formaldehyde and tea. She was lying in a long, padded box which turned out to be a coffin. This fact didn't bother her nearly as much as it should have, at the moment Grelle found it was just too much work to care. There were clean white bandages wrapped around her shredded arms. The Shinigami tried to lift her head to look around, but found it hurt too much to move. A soft moan escaped her carefully painted lips. A shaggy gray head popped appeared above her. The Undertaker reached down, and helped Grelle up. He lead her over to another coffin, on which a tea tray had been set. The tea was served in beakers, and the biscuits were shaped like bones. Grelle decided agains eating anything.

"How did you find me?" she asked after a moment. Grelle's voice was scratchy, and her throat ached.

"I smelled blood. I thought perhaps I would find an injured bird." Undertaker's voice was soft.

Grelle laughed sadly, "Nothing so beautiful, just me."

The older Shinigami shook his head, "No, you are a lovely young lady. A beautiful, exotic bird waiting to take flight."

Grelle leaped to her feet, swaying precariously, "Don't lie to me! I know no one cares about me. I don't understand why you helped me! It would have been better if you hadn't!"

Undertaker stood, placing a gentle hand on Grelle's shaking shoulder. "I said it because it is true. Because no one has said it in a very long time, and you needed to hear it. Because I care about you, and I hate to see you in so much pain." Grelle's face crumpled, and she cried. Undertaker held her tightly, and they stood there, neither willing to let the other go.

**********

   Ciel Phantomhive walked into the Undertaker's shop, closely followed by his demonic butler. To the young earl's surprise, the shop was empty. There was no sign of the eccentric funeral director. "Is it possible he is out?" asked Sebastian. Then they heard the quiet sound of crying coming from the back of the coffin filled room. The two cautiously approached the source of the noise, neither wanting to barge in on one of Undertaker's mourning customers. The scene they found was even more surprising than anything Ciel had imagined. Undertaker stood in the small back room, his robed arms wrapped tightly around the earl's least favorite Shinigami. Grelle's tear stained face was buried in the other's shoulder, his body wracked with sobs. "Grelle!" The Shinigami in question looked up at the sound of Ciel's harsh voice.

"I should leave. I wouldn't want to waste any more of your time your time." Grelle's voice shook slightly as he drew away from the Undertaker. He slowly picked up his coat, and draped it over one arm. His face contorted in a rictus of pain, but not a sound escaped his red tinted lips.

Undertaker quickly took the coat from him, saying "You must be careful. You lost so much blood, it will take a while to heal."

Sebastian sneered at Grelle, "Did you injure yourself? Are even those tiny scissors too much for you to handle?"

"I have business with the Undertaker. Leave, _now_." Ciel's words cut through the air like shards of glass.

   Undertaker brushed his bangs aside, piercing the demon and his master with a bright green glare. His voice was deadly quiet, with not a trace of his usual humor as he said, "You will both apologize to Miss Sutcliff, and leave my shop." Grelle looked up fearfully at Undertaker, who smiled reassuringly and said, "Let me see." Sebastian realized that the normally white sleeves of Grelle's dress shirt were red. Both master and servant looked on curiously as Grelle carefully slid up his sleeves, revealing thick, red stained bandages. Undertaker deftly unwrapped them, and Ciel gasped slightly. Grelle's arms were a wrecked, bloody mess. Pulling a fresh roll of bandages from his robe, Undertaker gently rewrapped the other Shinigami's arms. He sat besides him, and looked up at the astonished faces staring at them.

Grelle leaned against his side, and Undertaker put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "You see what you drove her to? And you have yet to apologize."

Ciel stood frozen for a moment, before bowing his head. "I am sorry Grelle. I did not know that I could hurt you, since you were always so happy, so positive. Please try to forgive me, even though what I have done is completely unforgivable."

Sebastian was shocked, both at the damage the flamboyant Shinigami had apparently inflicted upon himself, and the fact that he actually felt marginally bad about it. "I-I am sorry. I believe I was overly cruel to you, and you did not deserve it." The entire room seemed surprised that a demon had actually apologized. Ciel bowed, and left the shop, taking a very little bit of the hurt with him.

**********

"Young master? Do you have something to say?" Sebastian tilted his head slightly, wondering if the boy had even heard him.

Ciel looked straight into the demon's deep red eyes, his gaze unguarded. "I-I was just thinking. I cannot believe Grelle would do such a thing to herself."

"Depression can make a person do things they normally wouldn't." _Herself? Had Ciel mean to say that?_

**Author's Note:**

> The switch in pronouns for Grelle was intentional. I wanted to show that Undertaker respected Grelle's desire, and that Sebastian and Ciel don't. I changed that for Ciel at the end, by having him refer to Grelle using a feminine pronoun.


End file.
